Stormsinger

by Airstream

In Which There Is An Explanation

“So…” Libra said slowly, taking in the two slightly singed and scruffy-looking ponies standing before her with a critical eye, “Explain to me again why you two not only were not present near the docks, like you had been instructed to be, but also appear to have acquired a few scrapes and a large cat?”

“Well, Magus, it happened sort of like this,” Cobblestone said. “When the explosions happened, Lady Serale and myself were pretty frightened, and we barely made it onto the dock without having to swim for it, and I’ve never been much good at that, especially in the state I’m in. I don’t rightly remember what happened right after that, seeing as there was so much noise, but…”

“Cobblestone wasn’t feeling well before the accident,” Serale cut in smoothly. “She showed signs of panicking, so she and I took a bit of a walk up the road to get away from the crowd and the ship. We both got a bit scuffed up trying to get out of the crowd, and she and I collided on the walk, knocking us both over.”

“You both, being of relatively sound mind and having fair to excellent reflexes, just tripped over one another in the road?” Libra said, arching an eyebrow.

“To be fair, ma’am, we were a mite distracted,” Cobblestone said. “And I’m still sort of shaky from the withdrawal as it is. It was likely my fault. The collision, that is.”

Serale nodded her agreement. “It sounds ridiculous, but that’s the reason why we’re scraped up. We had a collision, and took a fall.” From two stories up.

“And the cat?” Libra asked, eyes fixed firmly on Hob’s black bulk, currently curled against Cobblestone’s leg, apparently asleep.

“He showed up right after we fell,” Cobblestone said. “He seems to have taken a liking to me. Followed me back here, anyway.”

“I examined him for any illnesses or signs of damage,” Serale said, “And he looks to me to be just fine. Definitely not a house cat, he smells a bit.”

One of Hob’s eyes cracked open at that, regarding the Lady with supreme disdain before drooping shut again. Clearly, he hadn’t taken offense to the insult.

“Forgive me for not taking your word at that, Lady Serale,” Libra said, “But I’d like to examine him myself, if that’s alright.”

Serale looked at Cobblestone. “I don’t really think of him as my cat,” she said, “So it’s not really my decision.”

Cobblestone shrugged. “That’s fine by me. Just be careful with him, alright?”

Libra nodded, bending over to the cat’s level before lighting her horn. Hob looked up at her, his yellow eyes narrowed suspiciously and his tail twitching nervously. “Does he have a name?” Libra asked.

“Hob,” Cobblestone replied. “His name is Hob.”

“Hello, Hob,” Libra said gently, “I’m just going to check you over, alright?”

Hob’s paw shot out and slapped her across the nose, causing Libra to jerk back and the light of her horn to flicker out. Hob growled deep in his throat, the fur along his back bristling menacingly. It was quite clearly not alright with Hob.

Libra’s eyes narrowed, her horn lighting up. A jet of light shot from her forehead, striking the cat full on and enveloping his entire body in violet light before the cloud of sparks dissipated with a snap, leaving Cobblestone standing next to one very annoyed, loud, and bristling cat which spat at Libra once before it sprinted off into the crowd outside the inn.

“That is…odd,” Libra said, furrowing her brow. “I’ve never really gotten that kind of reading from a cat before.”

“What do you mean, odd?” Cobblestone asked. “And what did you do to him?”

“I checked him for illnesses, parasites, and enchantments. It was harmless and painless,” Libra replied with a sniff. “He’ll be fine. And he was fine, by the way. Except for an unusual feeling to the spell.”

“What do you mean, Libra?” Serale asked.

“The spell felt normal, but I got some sort of feedback from the cat itself, as if he had been near somepony doing magic for a long time,” Libra said. “Not that one of you couldn’t have done it. Well, not you, Cobblestone, but I don’t think you would have used magic without reason, Serale.”

The duo shot each other a quick glance before Cobblestone shook her head. “No recent magic that I know of, ma’am.”

Libra’s frown turned introspective. “Then there is something very odd about that cat,” she said. “I’d refuse to bring it along, but I have the distinct feeling it would find a way onto our transport regardless, so I suppose I don’t have much of a choice. It seems very close to you, Cobblestone.”

The thief shrugged, saying nothing. It was a bit of an effort. The fall from the roof had taken its toll, and combined with the stress of the near-robbery and the ongoing withdrawal, she knew she’d have no problems sleeping tonight. This did not go unnoticed by Libra.

“You’ll need to wait a bit on the sleeping, Cobblestone. Thankfully, our belongings were salvaged from the explosion, but nopony is getting back on the boat. They’ll be turning it back downriver tomorrow morning to be moored someplace that can afford the necessary repairs, but it will take us no further. I’ve already arranged for transport to meet us here, which will arrive in a few hours.”

Serale quirked her head. “That transportation being?”

“An airship, Lady Serale. One from the Second Fleet, along with accompanying vessels to provide an escort back to the city.”

Serale groaned. “There’s no way to make my return anything but loud and noticeable, is there?”

Libra shrugged apologetically. “Unfortunately, no. The riverboat was going to be noticeable enough, but returning via airship is going to be more ostentatious, I’m afraid.”

“Terrific,” Serale snarled, her face contorting in frustration. “As if it wasn’t going to be bad enough returning home, now I have to do it in an attention-grabbing manner. A fine welcome home, gone a year and suddenly everything wants to kill me!”

Cobblestone edged away from her. Serale was intimidating enough even when not in a mood, to see her losing her temper was borderline frightening.

“Serale, might I suggest going to find a room and cooling off?” Libra asked. “You’re having a bit of a snit.”

As if a switch had been flicked, Serale’s face went from being lined with stress to a serene, almost blank calmness. She took a deep breath, and when she spoke once more, her voice was much more level. “Thank you, Libra. Is there a room where I can spend some time alone?”

Libra nodded. “We’ve rented the inn. Pick a room. And you’ll be fine this time, they’re all guarded.”

“Wonderful,” Serale said. “Pardon me, Cobblestone. I’ll speak more with you later.”

Without giving Cob a chance to speak, she turned from the table, hurrying up the stairs near the back of the common room and disappearing from view. Libra and Cobblestone both watched her go, concerned for her safety.

“So she told you?” Libra asked Cobblestone. “About her…problem?”

Cobblestone, though surprised, didn’t show it. She did, however, realize that she needed to be very careful about what she said next. “No,” she said, “I figured it out. Seeing a unicorn do things the way she does is unusual.”

“Which is why she chooses to spend most of her time alone, segregated from her peers by necessity,” Libra said.

“Must be lonely,” Cobblestone said. “Having all of those ponies who want to be around you, and choosing to turn them away.”

Libra looked at Cobblestone. “You ran.” It wasn’t a question.

The thief nodded. “I was scared and I ran. Serale took the necklace off, and I just kept going. She chased me down, brought me back. How did you know?”

“We brought up your possessions and found a small crystal pin among them similar to the one used to undo your restraints. A few questions pegged a few ponies running on rooftops, culminating in an alleyway in which several miscreants were nursing headaches, among other injuries. Serale’s work, no doubt.”

Cobblestone sighed, meeting Libra’s gaze. “So what now?”

“I ask you a few questions,” Libra replied, “And what happens next depends on the answers.”

Cobblestone nodded tersely. “Okay. Go ahead.”

“What did you intend to do if you got away?”

It was an odd question, but after a moment, Cobblestone had an answer. “Find someplace to lay low for a while. Find a job with one of the ships going past. Make some money, find a place to settle down. Riverton looked nice.”

Libra nodded. “Who gave you the pin?”

Cobblestone tried to speak, she really did, but the words wouldn’t come out, like there was something lodged in her throat. She struggled for a moment before giving up. “I can’t tell you. Not that I don’t want to, I actually can’t.”

Libra frowned. “Curiouser and curiouser. You’ve been psychically blocked. I can tell by looking at you. So somepony gave you the pin, told you about where to run, and then what? Was there anything else?”

Cobblestone found she was unable to speak again, and so settled for shaking her head.

“Very well. Somepony clearly had an effect on your mind. Understandable, you were distressed,” Libra said. “We’ll be taking a closer look at that later. But for now, I have one more question.”

“Go ahead,” Cobblestone said.

“Did Serale bring you back? Or did you come back with her?”

“I didn’t resist, if that’s what you were asking,” Cobblestone said.

“That isn’t what I’m asking,” Libra said. “Did you make the choice to come back, or did you come back because you had no other options?”

Cobblestone was silent, thinking about her answer. Why had she come back? She could have taken advantage of Serale’s distraction to get the pin from her, or picked her pocket and gotten the pin back right after the fight. It wouldn’t have been hard. She could have left her there, kept running, maybe even gotten away. But she hadn’t. Why?

“I think it was a bit of both,” she said. “If you understand what I mean.”

“Go on,” Libra said. “Explain to me.”

“I was thinking a bit before I ran,” she said. “About what I wanted to do with myself, if I wanted to run or stay, if I could get away, if it was really worth passing up a chance at escape for something good that might happen. I could wait, make my testimony, and possibly have everything I ever wanted, or I could try my luck and make my own way. And you know which option I chose.”

“You chose to betray our trust in you and make an escape,” Libra replied.

“No, I chose not to take what you said at face value. I’ve never had an offer made without some sort of string attached to it. There’s no such thing as a free meal. I learned that growing up very quickly. And what you offered sounded like a free meal. So I chose another option. I could rely on myself, like I have before, and make my own way. Then I won’t be surprised if somepony sticks a knife in my back, I’ll have had only myself to blame.” Cobblestone said, looking out of the door of the inn at the busy crowd outside.

“Everything I’ve gotten, my place in life, my money, the clothes I wear, all of it is because I went out and took it, made it mine,” Cobblestone continued. “I didn’t have friends, I had partners, ponies I could trust to help me only because I was helping them. The two you found in the Inn, my partners, were there because we all wanted to get out of Crescent City. We stuck together for safety and to get what we couldn’t alone. The Pegasus was a pony I knew for years, and he tried to rob me blind more times than I could count.”

“So you chose to rely on yourself because that’s all you had to rely on?” Libra asked.

Cobblestone nodded. “At first. Right up until I fell off of a rooftop and we ran into some trouble.”

“And then what happened?”

“Serale happened. She stood up for me, fought for me, when she didn’t have to. And then she called me something I’ve never actually been called before. She called me her friend.”

Cobblestone’s voice was tinged with awe. “A friend. Me. Who had just moments before tried to run away from her, nearly gotten her killed, had been nothing short of a headache for everypony involved. Just like that, I was a friend to her. And that’s when I realized that I could stop running. I had somepony to rely on, somepony who could protect me if I could protect her. I’ll not abandon Serale Everstar. You have my word on that.”

Her voice was small once more. “For what it’s worth. So I came back of my own accord. There’s your answer.”

Libra nodded. “I’ll be reserving judgment for now. But based on what I can see now, I don’t see much of a reason to punish you further. Had you caused harm to anypony, or through your actions caused harm to Serale, there would be a much different outcome. But as it is, you’ll stay in custody. And I’ll see about getting you that apprenticeship still.”

Cobblestone bowed her head gratefully. “Not that I’m not thankful, but why? You had rules, I broke them.”

“Because you weren’t in your right mind when you did. And you could call me something of a bleeding heart when it comes to those in need,” Libra said. “I know a bit about hardship and self-reliance. And loneliness. You’ve made a friend in Serale, Cobblestone. I hope you realize what that means. She’s going to go through a lot. Be there for her. And if I find out that you’ve taken advantage of that friendship, you and I will be having words. Is that understood?” Libra’s face might as well have been carved from granite, so hard and unforgiving it was.

“I’d never go back on our friendship,” Cobblestone said, “But you have my word.”

“Good,” Libra said, “Then the matter is settled for now. I’ve been examining you for signs of mental influence, and aside from the mental block, I can find none. We’ll remove it when our ship arrives. Until then, you should get some rest. Pick a room upstairs. If you’re hungry, I’ll have somepony bring food up.”

Cobblestone bowed her head once more. “Thank you, Libra. You won’t regret this.”

“I know,” Libra said simply. “Now go.”

Cobblestone turned, walking across the floor of the common room and up the worn wooden steps of the inn before disappearing from view. Libra watched her go, a faint smile on her face.

Cobblestone had a lot of potential, she thought to herself. Power, drive, determination, all of them the beginnings of an excellent mage. Who was she to judge the filly for her shortcomings? She had a few of her own. And besides, she could understand the feeling of being on the run all too well. It wasn’t many who knew it, but before her meteoric rise, she’d spent some time on the wrong side of the law. Never got caught, but it had been a hard thing to become legitimate.

Twilight Everstar had known, of course. Somehow, she always knew. It was whispered that she ruled over Thought just as Princess Cadance ruled over emotion, but in truth Twilight couldn’t read minds, she just had nearly five hundred years of experience with ponies. And she had known, and she had forgiven her. That was probably the most important part, the forgiveness.

She just hoped that her Mistress would be as forgiving when she arrived with the airship to collect her daughter.

---

Serale sat with her back to the door, her eyes closed tightly and her tail wrapped around her like she had seen her mother do when she really needed to focus on something. She concentrated on controlling her breathing, letting deep, steady breaths in and out as she tried to calm down. Meditation was hard for her, but it was an important skill to learn, especially for her.

There was a sound at the door, which swung open.

“Oh, crap! Sorry!”

“Is that you, Cobblestone?” Serale asked.

The almost-white mare stood at the door, shuffling her hooves awkwardly. “Um. Yeah.”

“Come in. You don’t need to worry about me,” Serale said, opening her eyes, “I’m fine. I could use some company, actually.”

“Okay,” Cobblestone said, her voice slightly wary, “Sure.” The door closed behind her.

Serale turned to look at her. “How are you feeling?” she asked.

Cobblestone blinked in surprise. “I’m alright. A bit tired, but I think…I think I passed the low point of the withdrawal. I’m feeling better, at least. I’ll probably sleep like a rock tonight, but other than that, I’m doing fine. You?”

“I’m doing just fine,” Serale said.

“Really? Because you looked a bit angry down there,” Cobblestone said, “More than you should have, actually.”

“I said I’m fine!” Serale snapped. Her heart sank as she saw Cobblestone flinch away from her.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her shoulders slumping. “I shouldn’t have raised my voice at you. I didn’t mean to.”

Cobblestone smiled. “It’s alright. Just startled me, is all. Is something bothering you?”

Serale shook her head. “No, not really. It’s just…sometimes I get into these moods, Libra calls them ‘snits’. Mother has them too, but only ever in private. I get cranky, irritable, I lose my temper easily. If I’m not careful, I can say things that I don’t really mean to say.”

“How do you mean?” Cobblestone asked.

Serale shrugged. “I don’t really know how to describe them. I say hurtful things about others, things I probably shouldn’t know. I don’t know how I know them, but I do. And if I get up a head of steam, it’s hard to stop. Things can get…unpleasant.”

Cobblestone’s eyes widened. “You mean you can read minds?”

Serale laughed a bit at that. “No, not at all! It’s more like reading ponies, except I don’t use body language and I can’t really control it. Mother does it too, except never in public. She says it’s because I have a bit of her Flame in me. It gives me a bit of a temper. So I’m careful not to get too excited in public.”

“What happens if you do?” Cobblestone asked.

“Remind me to tell you about my stop in Fillydelphia,” Serale replied. “Or the time I won an insult competition with a Khan of the Minotaurs.”

“I don’t know,” Cobblestone said doubtfully, “It sounds like magic to me. Mind reading? I’m pretty sure there are ponies who can do that. Mentalists, right?”

Serale nodded. “Some can. But their subjects know about it. Reading a mind isn’t as insidious as most think, seeing as it’s pretty easy to notice somepony else pulling up your memories, especially without your permission.”

“Makes sense to me,” Cobblestone said. “But then, I don’t know much about magic in general.”

Serale gave her a half smile, feeling the stress ebb away. “Really? What do you know about it?”

“I know that unicorns can do it.”

Serale waited on more, but found nothing forthcoming. “That’s it?” she asked incredulously. “All of it?”

Cobblestone shrugged. “Told you I didn’t know much.”

“You don’t know about Earth pony magic? Or Pegasi and their magic?” Serale asked. “Or about the Cross?”

“Pegasi have magic?” Cobblestone asked.

Serale rested her face in her hooves. “Whoever becomes your teacher will have their work cut out for them. You know less than a child in magic kindergarten.”

Cobblestone nodded. “Never had much of a formal education.”

Serale cleared her throat. “Alright,” she said. “I’ll teach you the basics. Ready?”

“Alright,” Cobblestone said. “Go for it.”

“There are three types of magic innate in ponies,” Serale said. “There’s our magic, unicorn magic, which is unique in that we use it consciously. We can shut it on and off, make it do different things, and so forth.”

She held up her hoof. “Then there’s Earth pony magic. Their magic comes from the land itself, and they use that magic to help things grow, to work with animals, and so forth. Here in the Evening Kingdom, it’s more difficult for Earth ponies to do so, because they work different, sometimes opposing jobs. In the Celestial Kingdom, they work together on one job at a time, so the work is easier.”

“Why don’t we do that?” Cobblestone asked.

“Because we have stronger ley magic, the magic in the land itself,” Serale replied. “So even though they find it difficult to use, Earth ponies here get more results than the ponies in Celestia’s kingdom.”

“Okay,” Cobblestone said slowly, “So we use magic from inside ourselves, and Earth ponies use magic in the land.”

“Right,” Serale said, “And they cannot control the magic. It applies itself to whatever project they’re working on. So they couldn’t be tilling a new field and direct their magic to help their apple crop grow. It doesn’t work.”

Cobblestone nodded. “So what about Pegasi?” she asked. “What kind of magic do they have?”

“It’s not really clear where Pegasi draw their magic from,” Serale said, “But they use it to help them do their jobs in the sky. By all rights, Pegasi shouldn’t be able to fly with wings the size they are. They’re heavy, and the wings are small. Magic comes into effect there, helping them fly. Also, they use it to help manipulate the weather.”

As Serale had anticipated, Cobblestone looked at her like she had said that she was actually a two headed pink dragon.

“They use it to bucking what?” she asked, before clapping her hooves over her mouth. Her cheeks colored as she faintly blushed. “Sorry.”

“You heard me,” Serale said. “They use it to manipulate weather. It works better near the edges of the Kingdom because of the massive ley lines here. They make things grow wild and without prompting, and that includes the weather. Pegasi can’t manipulate it here, but they can most anywhere else.”

“That’s insane,” Cobblestone said. “So they can just push a snowstorm away, or bring in rain for the fields?”

“They schedule the seasons in the Celestial Kingdom, too,” Serale said. “In some places, they come together as a community to help discard the last remnants of winter.”

Cobblestone shook her head disbelievingly. “You’re pulling my hoof,” she said. “There’s no way.”

Serale held one hoof up. “Cross my heart,” she said.

Cobblestone leaned in closer. “You said you went to Fillydelphia?” she asked. “Did you see them doing it?”

Serale nodded. “Strangest thing I’ve seen in my life. They scheduled a sunny day for us to arrive, and then when we left, brought in snow clouds because harvest had been brought in.”

Cobblestone’s eyes lit up. “That’s so strange!” she said. “What else do they do differently in the Solar lands?”

Serale leaned in closer, lesson quite forgotten. “Well,” she said, “They have this thing called a Talent Mark…”

---

Riverton was famed for two things, its food and its complete lack of inhibition when it came to matters of love. The city was a hotspot for young colts and mares of all descriptions for exactly this purpose, and was also a fairly popular destination for married couples both new and old. Indeed, it was said that if this city had not lain within the demesne of Twilight Everstar, it would have felt right at home near the Manor of the Dawn herself, so vibrant and rich were its denizens’ love for life and one another.

It was to this city that a peculiar young mare had come, late one night, dressed all in black and with her head swathed in bandages that concealed the entirety of her head. She was led by a young colt in a jacket and tie, who shepherded her like one would a sister, or perhaps a lover. The guards at the gate to the town, wary of sickness, had no objections to letting her in after a brief tale of the young mare’s affliction and her desire for some quiet rest away from the cruel and hectic life of Crescent City, a rest which Riverton seemed to be able to offer her. After coin had been exchanged, the duo had been admitted with little fuss at all, and had even earned well-wishes from the guards at the front gate.

“We are almost there, Sister,” the colt murmured as they proceeded down the road towards the riverfront. “Our brethren have a holy place nearby where they are gathered even now.”

Nightshade smiled at this. “I am glad. Fate may have allowed us speed and a safe journey, but I wish to remove these accursed wrappings from my eyes and let my horn breathe once more.”

It was then that they had arrived at their destination, an old building just moments from the river itself. The sign on the front read “Striped Hide Charms and Herbal Remedies”, and though the hour was late, there was still a light burning in the window. The building itself was imposing, painted black and covered in strange runes and pictures of animals unseen by any in the town. The very air of the place seemed to discourage visitation, but it was inside this building that the two ponies went, the door swinging open and shut behind them without any visible prompting.

The inside was little better than the outside in the way of reassurance. Dusty phials lined the walls, gleaming in the dim light which permeated the room with a sickly orange glow. The skeleton of some strange winged beast dangled from wires from the ceiling, phantom limbs stretched wide as if to swoop down on those entering the shop and devour them whole. The floor itself was scoured with marks and gouges just a bit too regular to be random, and bundles of too-sweet herbs dangled in bunches from the walls and ceiling, competing for space with scrolls of indeterminate age and origin, in a hundred different tongues, none of them speaking anything good.

All this paled in comparison, however, to the shopkeeper standing behind a filthy glass display case, underneath which were laid strange curved daggers stained with something that might have been rust, old flutes carved of pale, pale bone, silver jewelry that gleamed with blood red stones, and other, more obscure things whose purpose could only be guessed at.

“Welcome, weary travelers,” the aged zebra said, his voice dusty as the scrolls on his walls. His eye gleamed an unpleasant yellow in the light, the slit pupil contracting at the sight of them. “You look as though you have journeyed far. Might I interest you in some of my wares?”

The colt nodded twice. “My Sister is ill. I have heard many things about the power of Crows. Have you a talisman to help her heal?”

The zebra nodded in return upon hearing the code phrase spoken. “Such things are too powerful to keep in the front of my store. I have many wondrous items in back for the Worthy. Would you care to see them?”

“I would,” Nightshade said, “But allow me a brief moment to compose myself. We will not be disturbed?”

Her voice let the shopkeeper know exactly who he was dealing with. It fairly rang with the authority of Fate itself. “Of course not,” he said. “These walls are more secure than they look to be.”

Nightshade said nothing, instead choosing to remove her cloak, letting it fall to the floor.

Her horn lit up with black fire as she stripped the bandages from her eyes, the aura covering her face in a black half-mask of magic. The linens, stained brown on the inside, fell to the floor gracefully as she let the magic fade to reveal her mask once more in place, the silver filigree shining bright even in the dim light of the shop.

The shopkeeper clutched at his chest as her sightless gaze lit directly on him, her white eyes piercing into his soul with the ease of a dagger between the ribs. Her lip curled contemptuously.

“Stand aside and let us pass, Brother,” she said. “I have been charged with judgment on the one behind that wall. She has disobeyed the orders of Fate and must be punished.”

The zebra scrambled to one side as Nightshade’s horn flashed again and the wall behind him simple ceased to exist, revealing a small room, empty save for a few chairs and a rug on the floor. The stallion in the jacket and tie leapt the counter, trotting over to the rug before pulling it to one side. Her shattered horn flashed once more, and the trapdoor it had concealed flew off of its hinges, ripped from them to the wall furthest away from Nightshade.

“Enough!” an aged voice called. “Enough! I will be out in a moment, Fate curse you! My old bones take a moment to climb these steps.”

Nightshade motioned to the stallion to step away from the hole. He did so with haste, moving to stand beside her once more. It was a moment more before an elderly zebra, her eyes rheumy with age and a staff clutched in her hooves, managed to climb out of the hole and stood facing her attackers.

“Am I addressing Sister Ruti?” Nightshade asked.

The zebra nodded. “You know I am, child. What is your business here?”

“Sister Ruti, you disobeyed our Mother. You hexed the engines on the riverboat that came by here a day or two ago, and sent a nightmare to one of the occupants, did you not?”

“I put a hex on a boat which disturbs the water too greatly, and put a dream-dagger in the head of the one who thwarted Mother’s plans, yes,” Ruti said.

Nightshade sighed. “You know why I am here, Sister.”

“Aye, Sister,” Ruti said. “I know. I’ll go quietly for you.”

Nightshade’s horn flashed, and the zebra was annihilated in an instant, her staff plummeting to the floor before being caught by the stallion in the jacket and tie. She turned to the other zebra from behind the counter. “Gather them here,” she said, “As of now, I control this Family, until Mother appoints another.”

The zebra choked out his acceptance before stumbling out of the door, leaving the two ponies alone. Nightshade’s horn lit up, and the staff floated out of her companion’s grip. Gently taking it from the air, she rested her weight on it. Inhaling briefly, she activated the staff, green flame pouring out of the top of it. As she concentrated, however, the color of the flame darkened. Soon enough, it too was black.

Comments

[Willsons]

Neat, I'm liking these crows more and more.

[Starlight Shadow]

As this story goes on, this song fits it more and more.

[Raistlin]

I will ask it again: how can zebras do magic, or rather, what is their magic "type"?

[CDR]

3934351
Alchemist. Elementalist. Spiritualist.
Shaman.

Least thats the way I look at it.

[Stellar Song]

Interesting, this chapter went by quickly, probably because it is so good.

[Unimportant]

Cob learns the magic of friendship, you wouldn't like Serale when she's angry and The Crows are basically the mafia.

[Dainn]

I have a feeling that hob is actually someone or something else in disguise.

[Meowy]

I'm still waiting for that chapter in which Libra dies.

[scytho]

Excellent chapter.
These Crows are turning out to be rather bad ass.

I liked Serale's little break down. It was a lot like Twilight.

[Raistlin]

3937082

In the hooves of her previous disciple, who is now the leader of the Crows and also Cob´s mother

[iloveportalz0r]

>the wall behind him simple ceased to exist
*simply

[H550]

3935494 Hob is a cat. They are the most unpredictable things in the MLP universe this side of a displaced human and ol' disco ball himself.